Manually-operated cotton-picker.



N. BWDITCH.

MANUALLY OPERATED COTTON PICKER.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 29, 1905.

Patented Oct. 11,A 1910.

.lxml

Y @v. --.p.-@..-vnls la ...1

Cgi

NATHANIEL BOWDITGH, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

MANUALLY-OPERATED COTTON-PICKER;

Specification of Letters Patent. l Patented Oct. 11, 1910.

Application filed December 29, 1905. Serial No. 293,737.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHANEL Bou/orrori, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Manually-Operated Cotton-Pickers, of which' the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cotton picking devices, and has for its object to provide a new and improved device of this description particularly adapted to be operated by hand.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a view of a picker embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 8; Fig. 5 is an end view of one of the guiding devices for th'epickers; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing a modified construction.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several figures.

A series of spiral cotton pickers B are provided with a series of picking points B1 and are connected with a supporting piece At provided with a handle A5. The cotton pickers are preferably rotatably connected to the support A4. Associated with the spiral pickers are a series of rods A.' These rods are preferably connected with theI sup porting piece A and pass through holes in the end-piece AT. Said end-piece .is also provided with a suitable handle by means of which it may be held in place. The rods A are preferably provided with enlargements AS which prevent them from being entirely withdrawn from the end-piece. Associated with the end-piece are a series of projecting pieces R fastened to the end-piece .in any desired manner. each provided with a series of engaging devices Rl, R2 for the pickers. These engaging devices as herein shown consistI of staples or looped wires fastened to the projectiim` part lt and there are a series of these engaging devices. .It will be noted by referring to Figs. 3 and -l that the looped wires R1 are simple.I loops. the ends being fastened to the projecting piece R and the loop projecting straight therefrom. It will further be seen that the looped wires R2 are bent at right angles so that the ends project at right angles to the loops R1 and that the attachment of the ends of the loop R2 is at one side of the points wherc'the ends of loops R1 are attached. This permits the spiral picker to pass through these loops and thespiral of the picker engaging the wires causes the picker to rotate when it is reciprocated. These spiral pickers can be formed in anydesired manner, as, for eX- ample, by a piece of hair-cloth or wire woven cloth or the like inserted between two bands of steel twisted in a spiral shape.

R20 as bent so as to provide enlarged openings R3 at the places where the picking points of the spiral'picker pass through the loops. These enlargements prevent wear on these picker points. The projecting pieces R to which the loops are attached are provided with fastening pieces R'1 and `projecting ends R5 (see Fig. 5), said projecting ends being provided with slots R6 and being beveled as shown at R7, Fig. 3, s'o that the ejids of the pickers will be guided to the s ots.

The end-piece A7 is provided with a series of openings through which the projecting ends R5 of the guiding devices pass, the guiding devices then being held in position by a screwRs. It will be seen that the projecting ends R form such a construction that one screw R8 is sufficient to hold the projecting pieces R in place. When it is detbe 'handles at each end of the device and brings the end plate into proximity to the cotton plant and then pushes upon the handle A"l so as to force the pickers into the cotton plant. The pickers are rotated by this action and the picker points engage the cotton and cause it to be wrapped about the pickers so as to be lpulled loosefrom the cotton bolls. The device can then be moved bodily over some receptacle such as a sack or a basket and the handle pulled back to 'its initial position. The'cotton on the pickers then engages the. endl plate A7 and is pulled from the pickers and drops into the receptacle. The rods A prevent lateral displacement ot' the parts so as to cause binding or the like. and also because of the enlarged ends prevent the disconnection of the piek ers from the end-piece A7.

It will be seen that by this device there is provided a manually operated cotton picker which can be used by any individual such as an ordinary lab'orer, and which can be brought easily and quickly in operative position with relation to the cotton and .then

' 65 In Fig. 6 I haveshown the loops R1? and y sired to use the device the operator grasps llO operated to pick the cotton and then moved i bodily to a discharge position where the cotton can be discharged into a suitable receptacle. j

I claim:

1. A` manually operated cotton picker comprising an end-piece provided with aha-ndle,a series of spiral cotton pickers passing through saidend-piece said end-piece being provided with guides for the pickers which cause them to be' rotated when reciproca-ted, a handle connected with said cotton' pickers arranged so thatfthey can be moved to and from the end-piece.

2. A manually operated cotton picker comprising an end-piece provided with a handle, a series of spiral cotton pickers passling through said. end-piece rsaid end-piece bemg provided with guides for the pickers which causethem to be rotated when reciprocated, a handlefconnected with said cotton pickers arranged so that they can be moved to and from the end-piece, and a ers and passing through openings in said end-piece so as to move with the pickers. y

4. A manually operated cotton 4picker `comprising two handles, a series of spiral cotton pickers connected with one handle, a

'series of guides therefor connected with the other handle, said handles adapted to be moved relatively so as to project the spiral pickers into and withdraw them from the cotton plants.

5. A manually operated cotton picker comprising two handles, a series of spiral cotton pickers connected with one handle, a

series of guides therefor connected with the other handle, a series oit rods `substantially parallel with said c otton pickers and adaptl ed to form aimovable connection between the two handles.4

6. A cotton picking device comprising a series of spiral cotton pickers, a n0n-rotat ing support therefor, a series of guides through which they pass and by means of which they are rotated when reciprocated, means for moving said pickers through said guides when it is desired to'project them into the cotton plants, the entire device adapted to be moved bodily to a discharge position without rotating the said pickers, the cotton being discharged by moving the pickers back to their initial position.

serles of looped wires connected with said projecting parts, a series of spiral cotton pickers adapted to pass through said looped wires and said end-piece, and a handle connected with said cotton pickers.

10. A cotton picking device comprising an end-piece provided with a series of openings, a series of projecting pieces provided with slotted projecting ends adapted to pass through said openings, each projecting plece provided with a fastening part, and means for fastening each fastening part to the endpiece, a series of looped wires connectedwith the proj eoting pieces, a series ofspiral cotton pickers ada ted to engage said looped wires, and a handle connected with said cotton pickers.

11. A cotton icking device comprising an end-piece )rovi ed with a series of openings,

a series o projecting pieces provided with slotted projecting ends adapted to pass through said openings, each projecting piece provided with a fastening part, and means for fasteningeach fastening part to the endpiece, a series of looped wires connected with the projecting pieces, a series of spiral cotton pickers adapted to engage said looped wires, a handle connected with said cotton pickers, a series of rods connected with said handle and running parallel with said pickers, said rods also engagin said end-piece.

12. A guiding device or cotton pickers comprising two coperating looped wires, one loop bent at the en d so as to roj ect past the other, the wires bent lateral y at predetermined points so as to form enlarged openings, said wires connected to a support.

13. A guiding device for cotton ickers comprising two c operating looped-wires the loops extending substantially at right angles as to form an enlargement of the s ace between them at a predetermined point, said wires connected to a support. j

14. A guiding device for cotton ickers comprising a series of looped wires ivided into two sets, the wires of one set each formed into a simple loop, the wires of the other set each formed into a loop having two parts at right angles to each other, one of said parts projecting past the first set, the wires of both sets bent at predetermined points so as to form enlargements of the to each other, a portion of each wire bent so y spnce between them, said wires connected to handle, und a series of guides therefor coria support. nected With the other handle.

15. A manually operated cotton picker comprising two separatedrelativelymovable NATHANIEL BOWDITCH 5 handles, one adapted to be grasped by the `Witnesses:

right hand andthe other by the leftl hand, a EDNA K. REYNoLDs, series of cotton pickers connected with one PERGIVAL H. TRUMAN. 

